


Dream's Prison

by rosetalon



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Dream Team SMP Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:54:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28913436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosetalon/pseuds/rosetalon
Summary: Instead of locking Dream up in prison for the rest of his life, Tommy decided to give Dream severe brain damage in order to ensure that he will never hurt another person again. Dream is outcast after it has been done, and Philza gives him a place to stay and recover. What will become of Dream? How will everyone react to him in the state he's in? Will he be able to seek forgiveness? Will Tommy grow to regret what he's done?
Comments: 121
Kudos: 332





	1. Dream's Prison

“Don’t kill me Tommy. Please. You can’t kill me.”

Tommy holds Dream’s axe in his hand, his rage causing his grip to tighten. “Yes I can. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t. Actually, y’know what, don’t, because you can’t. I should just--I should just take your final life right now, to spare everyone the heartache of more of your, your manipulative, dictatorship, shitty-ass treatment.”

“Tommy, come on. I--” Dream’s words are cut off by an arrow being sent through his arm, fired from the very same crossbow he had once aimed at many of the people standing behind Tommy. “Tommy! Stop! Stop! Don’t!”

Tommy takes out one of Dream’s hundreds of stacks of obsidian, constructing a box. “Get in. Get in the box, Dream. Get in the box or I’ll kill you.”

Dream panics, pressing himself up against the cold wall as Tommy points the crossbow at his face. “Okay! Okay.” He squeezes past Tommy to climb into the small space, flinching up against the back of the wall as Tommy places a block in front of him. He’s trapped, unless he were to try to break out with his bare hands.

“I should kill you. You’ve done nothing but harm to this world, to everyone standing here. You’re a nasty prick, Dream, a real asshole.” Tommy curses at the man who had tortured him in exile for so long. “I should kill you, I really should.”

The crowd behind Tommy is tense, none of them quite able to process what is happening before them. Suddenly, Eret steps forward.

“Tommy. There’s another way. We don’t have to kill him,” says Eret.

“Oh yeah? How the hell can we--other than killing him--stop him from causing more harm? From hurting more people?”

At first Eret was going to suggest that they lock Dream up in the very same prison Dream had built to trap Tommy, but then he gets a better idea. There’s a gleam in his eyes, behind his sunglasses, as he makes his suggestion. “Well, Tommy. He doesn’t have to be dead to be unable to hurt anyone.”

“What are you talking about,” pries Tommy.

“There are other ways to make a man harmless, Tommy.”

“What are you suggesting.” Tommy’s voice cracks.

“Well, instead of killing him, we could just, you know, incapacitate him.”

“You mean like, cut off all his arms and legs??”

“NO!” Dream shouts from his obsidian casket.

“Nah, not like that. That would be too messy.”

“Then...then what?” Tommy turns to face Eret.

“I say we smack him upside the head until he’s incapable of hurting anyone ever again.”

Tommy, as well as the rest of the people gathered, are dead silent. Even Dream can’t say anything, frozen in place as realization washes over him. His heartbeat rises. They can’t be serious.

“You mean…” Tommy is quiet. “You mean like brain damage?”

“Yep.”

Tommy looks down at the floor, then at the axe in his hand. “So you think...instead of killing him, or, or burying him underground in obsidian somewhere, we should just…”

“It will be just like Ghostbur. Clueless, out of the way, and, most importantly…” Eret steps forward, narrowing his eyes at the man who took his kingdom from him. “Harmless.”

Dream chokes out a nervous laugh. “What. What? You can’t be serious. You’re kidding. You wouldn’t. You can’t just. No, you can’t! Put me in prison! Put me in a box forever underground! I don’t care!” Dream is panicking. “Just don’t do THAT, come on! That’s inhumane! That’s torture!”

“Ohhh,” Tommy laughs, cold. “I’m sure you’d know a thing or two about torture.”

This gets Dream to shut up.

Within minutes, the group has produced enough leads to tie Dream to a fence, his arms and legs tied tight to the post. Struggle as he might, Dream cannot escape, and even if he did manage to snap the leads, he has nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. He’s beginning to hyperventilate.

“You can’t. You won’t. You couldn’t. Not to me. Tommy, you can’t do this to me. We used to be friends, Tommy.”

“You fucked that up, Dream. You fucked everything up. You fucked up so hard, Dream, and now you’re going to pay for it.” Tommy digs through Dream’s old belongings, picking up a Netherite shovel. It’s tougher than diamond, incredibly heavy, and will do a great job with what Tommy’s about to do.

“Tommy please. Please Tommy, I’m begging you. Don’t do this. I-I know I fucked up, I know I did so, so many bad things, but please, Tommy, you can’t do this to me. Just lock me away somewhere. Completely alone. Put me on top of the Nether if you have to--anything, anything but this.”

“Any last words, Dream?” Tommy asks. Then he chuckles. “Well, I guess they won’t be your last words, cause you won’t really die from this, I think. Actually I’m not sure what will happen. Well, any last...coherent words, then?”

Dream takes a deep breath. This is it, isn’t it? He addresses the whole room of people when he speaks. “If you guys are really going to do this, then...then I… I hope that I can be a better person once it’s done.”

“Ohhh, shut up with that better person bullshit.” Tommy dismisses Dream’s statement, not allowing the man a moment of reassurance. He doesn’t deserve to be forgiven. All he deserves now is what comes next.

Tommy steadies himself beside Dream. He reaches to Dream’s head and unties his mask, allowing it to clatter to the floor. Dream shuts his eyes, not willing to face the gaze of those surrounding him. Tommy lifts the Netherite shovel high, and then…

With three loud, ringing bangings of metal, echoing throughout the hallway, Tommy strikes Dream’s head with the flat side of the shovel. With that, Dream has gone unconscious. Tommy is trembling. He takes a glance back at Eret, but Eret doesn’t seem satisfied.

“We need to make sure that it’s enough. Keep hitting him.”

“What do you mean keep hitting him? The man’s unconscious, he’s probably near death!”

Eret sighs. He digs a hand into his pockets, taking out a special item--a totem of undying. He tucks it into the rope binding Dream, then steps back.

“Hit him again. Hit him until the totem prevents his death.”

Tommy stares, wide-eyed. “Oh jeez, okay…,” he mutters, raising the shovel once more.

The striking continues. The rhythmic sound of metal hitting flesh is causing half of the audience to feel sick. Most of them can’t even watch anymore. Who can blame them for averting their gaze? This is horrific. But it’s what has to be done. It’s what he deserves, isn’t it?

Eventually, a sickening crack can be heard. Tommy flinches, pulling back and lowering the shovel. Dream’s skull has been cracked open. Blood has begun to gush from the wound on his head, and, after a few moments, blood begins to drip from his nose, as well. All is silent and still in the room, until, without warning, the totem of undying wriggles free from the rope, floating around Dream before vanishing into sparkling dust. Dream has died, and he has come back, but he's still not waking up. Dream’s bleeding slows. He’s not actively dying any longer, but he’s practically on death’s doorstep.

“That’s enough,” says Eret, but Tommy has already stopped. Tommy drops the bloody shovel to the ground, taking shaky breaths as he takes in the sight before him. He turns to Tubbo, grabbing on to his friend’s arm.

“Tubbo we need to go. Tubbo we need to go now.” Tommy is quiet, still in shock at what he’s witnessed--at what he’s done.

“Right.” Tubbo leads Tommy away, to the elevator, to freedom.

Dream’s limp body is eventually cut down from the post. Those who were once his closest friends help to carry him, pouring potions of healing down his throat in an attempt to heal his wounds. Though they may be able to stop the bleeding, to at least ensure he wakes up after all of this, there’s no amount of potions that can heal what has been done to him.


	2. New Home

It’s been a very long time since Dream’s been awake. He’s faded in and out of consciousness, but this is the first time he’s truly been awake in a while. There’s something off about it, though, he can tell. Something’s very wrong.

Dream looks up at the ceiling, his gaze moving around the house he seems to have found himself in. He stares at the cobblestone floor, the wooden walls, the glass windows. There’s a sapling in a pot on a crafting table next to him. But as he looks at these things, he starts to notice how uncomfortably silent it is. Not just where he is, but in his head, too. He glances at the door, at the painting on the wall, but still, he feels nothing. Typically, there would be a hundred thoughts going through his mind at this moment. Where is he, how did he get here, how can he escape, what happened to him--these are all questions he should be asking, but he isn't. He’s just staring at the painting on the wall. He stares at the painting, and he waits--he waits for those thoughts to come, for his mind to come up with a plan of what to do, where to go, how to escape. But the thoughts never come.

The hours pass, and Dream can tell that there’s someone nearby, someone outside. He hears footsteps, he hears dirt being shoveled. But he doesn’t know how to get to them, so he doesn’t try to. He feels much too tired to try to get out of this bed, and it’s safe here. He’ll just wait for something to happen.

Eventually, something does happen. The door opens. Dream flinches, staring at the unfamiliar face who has come into his new home. Who is that?

Philza jumps when he sees Dream move. “Oh dear God, you’re awake.” He laughs. “You startled me!”

Dream doesn’t recognize this person, as they never really knew each other very well. Dream realizes that this person is speaking a language that he understands, somehow, and feels as though he should say something in return. But try as he might to produce something from that head of his, he just...can’t.

Philza must sense his frustration, because he offers encouragement as he steps closer. “Hey, take it easy, mate. I’m surprised you’re even conscious already. You shouldn’t push yourself.”

The pit of despair in Dream’s stomach is growing as he comes to realize how wrong everything is in his head. Everything that’s happening now is just too much, from the strange place, to the strange person, to his strange inability to muster a coherent thought. The panic and frustration churns inside of him, but eventually he works up enough focus to get a word out.

“Wh… What?”

“Shhh sh sh sh,” Phil sits down on a slab beside Dream’s bed. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Something about this man’s presence is calming to Dream. He’s terrified, he’s confused, and, oh god, he’s in pain. A migraine is setting in fast. He reaches up to hold his head in his hands, and realizes first that his mask is missing, and secondly that his head is wrapped in bandages.

Instinctively, Dream covers his face with his arms. “Nnh!” He can’t let this stranger see his face, he can’t.

Philza just chuckles. “No, it’s okay, I’ve already seen your face, you don’t need to hide it. Just try and relax, and I’ll explain everything.” Phil waits for Dream to lower his arms, to convey any sense of trust in him. It takes a few moments, but eventually Dream seems to appear more at ease.

“Okay. Are you listening? I’ll explain.” Phil takes a deep breath. “You were arrested for crimes that you had committed, and they all decided that your punishment should be to... smack you upside the head, with a Netherite shovel. Then, you blacked out, and they realized they needed somebody to take care of you. So of course...they called me up, told me, ‘hey, this guy’s probably going to die if nobody gives him someplace to stay, wink wink, nudge nudge’, and so I came down, loaded you into a boat, and...well, now you’re here.”

Dream stares at Philza, his green eyes wide. He hardly understood any of that, and the man was speaking too quickly for Dream to keep up with most of it. But from what he’s gathered…

“You like this house? I made it just for you. It’s pretty small, but fairly cozy, I think.” Phil offers Dream a smile.

Phil's genuine smile distracts Dream from the burning anxiety in his chest. He still doesn't understand what happened to him, or why it happened, but this nice man is here to make sure he's alright. Dream is surprised to feel his anxiety melt away, replaced, quite quickly, with an unnatural happiness. It seems as though he has difficulty controlling his emotions, now. Dream is frightened, at first, feeling himself swept away by a wave of joy, but after a few moments he forgets why he was worried in the first place.

"You okay, mate?" Phil asks Dream, who is staring at him blankly.

Come to think of it, who is this man? Dream vaguely remembers being told that the other had rescued him, but he is starting to forget what happened before that. Strangely, Dream doesn't care about his fleeting memories.

The strong happiness welling up in Dream's chest causes him to laugh softly. He puts his hands on his head again, running his fingers along the rough bandages covering his head. For some reason, it's really funny.

"Hey hey hey let's stop with the creepy laughing shit, okay? You can't be that far gone can you?" Philza puts a gentle hand on Dream's shoulder. "Relax. It's okay. You're gonna get better, Dream."

Hearing his name makes Dream snap out of it. He remembers that. That's him. He lowers his shaky hands, looking up at Philza with a curious expression. He's searching Phil's face, trying to recognize him, but he just can't.

"Oh. You probably have no idea who I am, huh." Phil keeps his hand on Dream's shoulder, rubbing it to keep the man calm. "I'm Philza. Or you can call me Phil. Or...I guess, if you want, uh, some people call me Dad."

"D… Dad!?" Dream looks astonished.

"No no no I'm not YOUR dad, it's just a nickname, you know, cause I'm so dad-like."

"D…" Dream tries to recall what his own father looks like, but...the memory isn't there. He supposes that this can be his new dad. He smiles up at Phil, that overwhelming happiness in his chest still refusing to dissipate. "Nnnmh. Dad."

Philza pauses for a moment, looking at the ceiling, a smirk on his face. He shakes his head, then he laughs. "Okay, alright, alright, if I've got to be everybody's dad then so be it!"

Dream smiles, staring up at Philza. He still has no idea how he got here or what happened to him, as it will take a few tries to commit that to his memory. Maybe it doesn't matter, though. Maybe he doesn't need to know what happened to him. After all, he feels pretty good right now, in a soft bed in this nice house his dad built for him. Maybe this is alright. Maybe he'll be okay.


	3. Rabbit Stew

“Mind running that by me again?” Technoblade gives Philza a glance, turning away from the anvil he was smithing tools at.

“Right. About a month or two ago I made a house for Dream to stay in, right over that hill,” Philza points out the window into the snowy fields outside. “Because when he was confronted by all of them, they all turned on him, they bashed his head in with a shovel."

"I know that happened, Phil, what I'm concerned with is why you decided to make a home for the power hungry dictator who tried to take control over the world!"

"...He needed a home, Techno, they were going to leave him to die."

Technoblade laughs, astonished. "Well yeah sure the guy needs a home but why does his home need to be right next to our homes? And why didn't you tell me about this? I didn't volunteer to look after the man who betrayed everyone, the man who took what everyone held dear away!"

"You didn't, Techno, but I did." Philza looks Technoblade in the eyes. "You won't have to worry about him. I'm going to take care of him. With luck, he'll heal, and he can go fuck off somewhere else. This is just for as long as it takes him to recover."

"Well how long will that be? Where is he now?"

"In his bed. Asleep, probably."

Technoblade groans. "I don't get it, why wouldn't they just kill him? Why wouldn't they just lock him away? Why this? Why make him our problem?"

"...They wanted revenge, Techno. They were hurt by him, so they wanted to hurt him in return. It's fucked, I know, but...I think they just wanted him to suffer how they suffered."

"How could this be marginally close to getting a damn music disc stolen from you?"

"It's more than that, Techno."

"I know, I know." Techno sighs, folding his arms and looking at the floor. "I know why they did it, Phil. I just can't believe it. They're savages. And that's coming from me."

"Yes, it's true. A lot of pain can turn people into monsters."

The two of them are silent for a while. A snowstorm blows in outside.

"I should go make sure he's fine in this weather," says Phil. "I'll bring him some hot stew, too. Help keep him warm."

Techno eyes Phil, thinking, then steps towards him. "You know what? I'll come too."

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with him?"

"No, no. I want to see him."

"Okay, if you're certain."

Philza cooks up some rabbit stew for Dream, dons his armor, and heads outside. It's freezing outside with all of the snow, and strays are wandering about in the tundra and shooting arrows at them. None of them are a match for Technoblade. Philza strolls forward peacefully as Technoblade slaughters any stray or zombie that attempts to approach them.

Eventually, they arrive at Dream's new home. He's awake, though he's still sitting in bed, staring out the window at the snow. He doesn't notice them come in until Philza says something.

"Hello, Dream," says Phil. His voice is soft, as he still wants to be careful with him. He takes out the bowl of soup, offering it to him. It is then that he realizes that Dream's injury has worsened his hand-eye coordination so badly that he's at risk of spilling soup all over himself. Philza stands there for a moment, quiet, the blizzard outside and the crackling of torches the only sound to be heard.

His expression unreadable, Philza sits down at the foot of Dream's bed. He gets a spoonful of stew and offers it to Dream, who eats it. This works. This is fine. Philza is hand-feeding the man who once ruled this world, and it's totally fine. He continues to feed Dream as he talks.

"This is Technoblade," says Phil, motioning towards Techno.

"Hullo," says Technoblade.

"Do you remember him?" Philza looks back at Dream, setting the spoon in the bowl for a moment.

"Techno…" Dream mutters. Phil can see Dream calculating in his mind, behind those green eyes of his. Dream's eyebrows are furrowing slightly, his lips pressed together as he tries to remember.

Neither of them could guess what's going on in that mind of his, but he finally answers with a nod.

"Oh that's great," says Techno. "It would be real awkward if you completely forgot who I am, hahaha. Nobody could forget The Blade."

Phil is quiet, and Dream is, too. He just keeps feeding him. The trio sink into silence once more.

Technoblade keeps his red eyes fixed on Dream. It's definitely the same man who he had dueled with all those months ago, but is it really? He has the same face--Techno of course being one of the few to ever see it, when his mask broke during their duels. His hands are the same that wielded the axe that could have taken the lives of everyone on this server. His dirty-blonde hair, sticking out in tufts from beneath his bandages, is still the same. His armor is gone, but he's still wearing that lime-colored hoodie of his. His eyes are just as unusually green as before, but there's something missing in those bright green eyes of his. When Dream looked at him before, the cunning brilliance of the man was clear to see. He was always plotting something, always calculating what his next action would be. Techno has seen the man parkour, he had seen the things he was capable of. The guy was a genius. But now, the Dream sitting before him, eating soup from Philza's spoon, staring seemingly at nothing...is this really the same man? Is the Dream he knew, his enemy, his ally, his rival--is he gone for good?

Techno crouches down, leaning in close to Dream. Phil stops feeding him for a moment. Dream's eyes move to Technoblade.

"Hello, Dream."

Didn't Techno already say hello? Dream can't remember. He also has trouble remembering how to respond. After a moment of hesitation, he mumbles, "H...Hi."

"They really did a number on you, didn't they."

Dream doesn't know what that means. "Mmhm."

"And now you're living here, with me to protect you and Philza to care for you."

Dream looks up at Techno, then over to Philza. He nods again.

"I guess this makes me the number one PVPer on the server for certain, eh?" Techno chuckles.

Again, Dream doesn't understand what Techno is talking about. He glances at Philza, looking for answers.

Phil is staring down at the broth in the bowl of soup in his hands.

"It's a shame to see you like this, Dream, really it is." Techno's expression is now serious.

Dream says nothing.

"I would have killed you, personally." Then Techno laughs. "I mean, I still can, if you want, I can put an end to your suffering. I one-hundred-percent would feel morally justified in doing that. I don't think Phil would let me, though. I mean, unless you asked for it."

Again, Dream is silent. There's a degree of fear in his glassy eyes as he stares at Techno. He's frowning.

"Do you want to die, Dream? This is your last life. There's nowhere else to go from here. This is it. Do you want to keep living like this, or do you want me to end it all? To give you an honorable death? This isn't fair for you, Dream. I mean, don't get me wrong, you did some fucked up shit, Dream, really, truly terrible person, on all accounts, no doubt there, but come on. This…" Techno rests his eyes on the bandages on Dream's head. "This isn't right."

Dream looks uneasy. He hardly understands the words Technoblade is saying, let alone what they really mean. What is he talking about? He doesn't want to die. He doesn't want to be killed. Is this man going to kill him? Instead of answering Techno's question, Dream squirms away from him, closer to the wall, holding on to the blankets of his bed as if they can protect him.

The blind fear in Dream's eyes reminds Techno of that of a cornered animal.

Technoblade stands. "Alright. Live. If this is the fate you want, then live it. See you later, Phil."

With that, Techno exits the cottage, vanishing into the stormy snow outside.

Dream stares at Philza, desperate for reassurance. But Phil keeps his head down, his eyes still focused on the gentle ripples the stormy weather creates on the surface of the stew. He's silent, lost in his thoughts. Lost in mourning.


	4. Outside

"Good morning, sleepy boy," says Philza as he enters Dream's home. It's been about a week since Dream woke up, and Philza has been visiting him regularly to bring him food and keep him company.

"Morning," says Dream in response. That's one of the words he's gotten down, one of the conversations he's used to having. He had been asleep until Phil came in. He's been spending most of his time sleeping, looking out the window, and writing in a journal. Well, it's more like doodling than writing. But he's getting there.

"How’s about we try walking today, hmm? After breakfast?" Philza takes out some bread, apples, and honey for the two of them to eat.

That sounds good. Walking sounds good. Dream nods as he picks up a piece of bread and starts eating it.

He's gotten used to life here with Philza. Nobody from his past has come to visit him, yet. For all they know, he could be dead, or still in a coma. Dream, similarly, has forgotten about them. Occasionally he gets dreams--nightmares, mostly--about things that happened in the past, but other than that, the memories hardly resurface. It’s like none of it ever happened.

Once they've finished their breakfast, Philza pulls away Dream's blankets and helps him sit up over the edge. He slips a pair of boots on him, as it is cold outside.

"Okay. You're going to stand, now. Ready? 3, 2, 1…" Philza pulls Dream up into a standing position. It takes a moment or two, but Dream manages to find balance.

"Okay." Philza smiles. "Now just move your legs, like this…"

After some trial and error, Philza gets Dream to walk. Thankfully, his sense of balance wasn't damaged with the injury, and walking is relatively easy for him once he gets the hang of it.

"Are you ready? You're gonna love this." Philza opens the door to Dream's home, taking him outside for the first time in months.

Dream gasps when he sees the outside world. He's been staring out his window for ages, but he hadn't realized that he could be here. He hadn’t realized that this was a real place he could go to. The sun shines overhead, making the white snow glow. There are trees in the distance, and sheep wandering about, their wool just as white as the ground. He takes a few cautious steps out into the snowy grass, holding on to Philza's hands for balance all the while.

A smile forms on Dream's unmasked face. He looks out into the distance, then back at Philza, then out into the distance, and back again, his eyes darting around to take it all in. With one hand still holding on to Philza, Dream runs a hand through his dirty-blonde hair, still not yet able to believe his senses.

“Haha, whaaat?” Dream laughs, unable to contain his excitement. The air is so fresh, the sunlight is so gentle...this is much better than staying in that bed of his. Now that he knows that there’s more to the world, well, he has to go explore it!

With Dream in tow, Philza walks around the snowy hills he calls home. They still don’t stray close enough to Techno’s house to impose, staying far enough away that all Dream can see is wilderness. He doesn’t care about power, anymore. At this moment, all he cares about is living.

Suddenly, Dream spots something unusual on the horizon. That isn’t a tree, is it? He squints, trying to make out what he’s seeing. Is that someone he knows? An old friend? They look familiar... 

No, it wasn’t an old friend. Nor was it an old enemy. It was just an enderman. Dream’s eyes widen as he realizes what it is he was staring at, gasping and pulling Phil closer to him.

“Woah, what? What is it?” Philza asks, but his questions are soon answered by the distant screeching of an enderman. “Shit!”

Philza dumps a bucket of water on the ground, soaking Dream’s snow-laden pants. Dream is astonished by this. Things are happening too quickly for him to comprehend, and he is helpless as Philza whirls around with a sword raised to slice wounds into the enderman who is trying to punish Dream for looking at them. Dream shouts out in alarm as the creature lets out a dying scream before turning into a puff of smoke.

All is silent for a moment, then Philza takes a deep breath, crouching scooping the water back into the bucket. Then, he gives Dream’s shoulder a gentle patting. “Let’s go back home, okay?”

Dream just nods. This fear--no, adrenaline--he feels is familiar to him. He can recall sensations of fighting faceless enemies, of running as fast as his legs can take him and leaping over gaps thought impossible to cross. He recalls the feeling in his chest when he would just barely stick a landing, when his reflexes would be the one thing he could rely on to save his life. He looks down at his hands. He can hardly hold a quill, how could he have done something like that? When that enderman came, Dream was utterly hopeless. He hates feeling like that.

The two are silent as they trek back home. Dream looks back, for a moment, to that hill where he saw the enderman. To his surprise, someone is standing there. He flinches, pulling his eyes away, terrified of reproducing the horrifying events that had just transpired. He’s too terrified to dare look back, but he could have sworn that the figure looked different from the last enderman he saw. This one, he could have sworn, was half white and half black.

Once they’re inside, Philza has Dream sit back down on his bed. He crouches down, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking him in his bright green eyes. Dream gazes up into the blue depths of Phil’s.

“Are you okay, mate?” asks Phil, concern written on his face. Dream hadn’t said anything the whole walk back.

Dream just whines in response. “Nhh.” He’s taken to doing that pretty often, really. It’s easier for him than talking.

“Right. Lucky that thing didn’t land any hits on you, they do serious damage. And you weren’t even wearing any armor.” Philza sighs, sitting down at the foot of Dream’s bed. “You’ve really got to be careful. But I didn’t think an enderman would teleport up here during the day time, the odds of that happening are low enough I thought it would be fine. Next time we go out I’ll get you some armor to keep you safe. Okay?”

Dream leans his head on Philza’s shoulder, shutting his eyes.

Philza never particularly liked Dream, if he had to be honest. He could never agree with what he’s done. They had teamed up once, to destroy a country, but that was strictly business. Dream had TNT, Techno had withers, Philza knew what had to be done. But would Philza be friends with Dream? Hell no. He would never let Dream get this close to him under any other circumstances, but Philza can tell that Dream needs him. This former power-hungry ruler has fallen from his throne, with little memory of the crimes he’s committed and no longer any ability to cause the suffering he had caused in the past. At this point, with the man so far gone, can Philza even blame him for what he has done? Could he stomach punishing or loathing this man who had once done so many awful things? 

Philza eyes Dream, whose head is resting on his shoulder. The bandages have since been removed, as the power of the Totem of Undying, plus a few months in a coma, were enough to heal the wounds shut. There’s still a rigid part, under Dream’s skin, where his cracked skull can be felt. The Totem forced it to heal, forced the bleeding to stop, but it never healed back exactly the same as before. Dream’s dirty-blonde hair has gotten longer, now, so it does a decent job of covering up his wound. But a person who knows what he looked like before can tell; there’s a subtle dent in the side of his head.

As Philza’s cool blue eyes trace the wisps of hair on Dream’s wounded head, he can’t help but think about how easy it would be to kill him.

To put an end to everyone’s suffering once and for all, by taking the last life of the tyrannical ruler. He had taken the life of his son, he could easily take the life of this heartless stranger.

But, the truth is...he doesn’t give a shit. Whatever symbolic message it would send to kill the wounded king doesn’t matter to Philza. Who cares. What matters to Phil is what’s happening now. Right now, someone is depending on him. What kind of person would he be if he didn’t help him out?

So, Philza doesn’t kill Dream. Instead, he wraps his arms around the young man, pulling him into a hug, holding him tight and whispering to him that everything will be okay.


	5. Ranboo

There’s a knock at Dream’s door.

It must be Philza. “Mmhm,” says Dream, encouraging Phil to open the door.

But when the door opens, it’s apparent that it was not Philza who was knocking.

The piercing green and red eyes that have plagued Dream’s dreams since that day he saw them out in the distance are here to stare him down. Dream flinches, expecting the stranger to scream and attack him for making eye contact. That’s an enderman, isn’t it? Then why isn’t it screaming? Why is it just staring at him silently?

“Do…” Ranboo stifles laughter. This is a question usually directed at him, but now, he’s the one asking it. “Do you remember who I am?”

Uneasy, Dream looks up again, getting a closer look. That crown, those clothes, those terrifying eyes... There’s some familiarity there. Nobody could forget such a strange looking boy. But other than a sense of having seen him before...no, Dream cannot remember who this strange creature is. He shakes his head.

“Oh. Oh this is great. This is really funny, actually. Like, you have no idea how perfect this is. It’s so comedic.” Ranboo gazes down at Dream, whose mind has been fractured even worse than his own. This man plagued his thoughts for weeks, causing him to doubt himself and his actions. To this day, Ranboo will never know if Dream was actually behind those moments of fear and confusion, or if they were all truly just in his head. But he knows that Dream framed him, that he was the one to destroy the community house after all, so, frankly, Ranboo wouldn’t put it past him to try to manipulate him further to get him to worry himself to death. Dream never had any respect for Ranboo’s disability. Why should Ranboo have any respect for Dream’s?

Dream gets the sense that this frightening creature is going to hurt him, so he pulls his blankets up closer to his chest. “Please.” He’s gotten the hang of that word, too. It’s useful to be able to let others know that he needs something. And now, he needs to feel safe.

Ranboo was there when they did this. Techno and Phil were both absent, but Ranboo was there to bear witness. He told Philza all that he could remember of the event to help gather information, but all that Ranboo had written in his memory book was “Today they broke Dream’s skull with a shovel”. He doesn’t remember much else than that, but there is one thing he’ll never forget: the sound of the shovel striking Dream’s skull.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you or anything. Are you kidding? Philza would probably have Techno slaughter me in seconds if I tried to hurt you.” Ranboo pauses. “But that’s not the only reason why I’m not going to kill you.”

Dream frowns.

“Look, I just want to talk to you, okay? Yeesh, you’re looking at me as if I’m going to torture you or something. I mean, what kind of asshole would I be if I were to use somebody’s disability against them just to torture them? Hahahaha.” Ranboo’s laughter is cold and dry.

Dream is immensely uncomfortable. He shuts his eyes. Maybe this is just a nightmare.

“Come on, I already said I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just here to talk.” Ranboo goes quiet for a minute, watching as Dream refuses to budge. "I know you don't really remember me, but I'm just like you." This almost gets Dream's attention. "What I mean is...you have trouble remembering the past, don't you? …Well, so do I."

Dream is quiet and his eyes are still closed, but he's listening.

"I have terrible memory problems. And it always makes me feel so...alone, being the only one who can't do these...these basic things that just about everybody can do. Like remembering what happened two days ago!" Ranboo laughs to relieve his own tension. "But now I'm not the only one. You're like me. Well, maybe not exactly like me. I still don't know what it did to you, really. Maybe you'll remember eventually after all. Or maybe you won't. It doesn't matter, what I mean is… it's…" He pauses to collect his thoughts. Snowflakes hitting the window is the only sound heard in the small cabin. "It can be lonely, I think, struggling with something like this. You're the only one like you on this whole stupid planet, the only one with these weird problems that nobody not even yourself understands. You're just...expected to deal with it, to make it work, to fit in with everyone else. It's hard, and it sucks, and I hate it, but...maybe. Maybe we don't have to be alone with this. I, I can help you, maybe, you know, with it all, with trying to remember, I mean, I'm no good at it myself, ahahaha, but I can try, or I can at least help with the awful feelings you might feel when you...when you can't remember."

Ranboo trails off, and Dream is silent. He has since opened his eyes, and has been watching Ranboo as he talked, although Ranboo had been looking out the window rather than directly at Dream. Once Ranboo is finished, Dream scoots to the side of the bed, reaching for his book and quill. He hands it to Ranboo.

Ranboo is surprised. "This. Is this. Yours? Did you write in this?" To have Dream, who had once stolen Ranboo’s memory book and used it against him, hand him something like this...well, it's almost enough to get Ranboo crying. "Can. Can I open it?"

"Yeah," says Dream, a small smile on his face. Ranboo makes eye contact with him for a moment, then looks down at the book. He opens it.

"These are... drawings."

"Mmhm."

The book is filled with crude doodles. It’s clear that Dream has difficulty making the quill move as he wants it to, as the lines are shaky. There are no written words. Presumably, Dream isn’t yet capable of writing. Pictures are enough. The drawings themselves interest Ranboo, as they are of seemingly random things. Some blocks, some tools, some animals...a shovel. Ranboo feels a chill go through his body when his eyes rest on the drawing of the shovel. Does Dream know? Ranboo flips further into the book, gazing at the drawings on the pages. Some of them are drawings of people. Dream’s not much of an artist to begin with, and his people look mostly like stick figures, so it’s hard to tell who these are supposed to be, but...there are some key features that Ranboo is able to recognize. One of them has big round glasses. Another has a scrap of fabric tied around his head. Another one has horns and what appears to be a hood. The rest of them, well...it appears Dream must have gotten frustrated, as there’s a large scribble over the rest of them. He must have gotten tired of trying to remember.

“Dream...do you know who these people are?”

Dream looks up at Ranboo. His gaze is vacant--he didn’t understand the question.

“These people.” Ranboo points at the stick-figures in Dream’s journal. “What are their names?”

“Uh…” Dream looks hard at the drawings, furrowing his eyebrows. He remembers drawing these, and he remembers seeing people who looked like this, but their names...no, he doesn’t remember.

Again, Ranboo is astounded at being the one who remembers for once. “That’s George.” Ranboo taps his finger on the page. “And that’s Sapnap. And Bad. They’re your friends. Or, um. Were your friends. Haha.” Ranboo recalls the day it all happened. He can’t...quite recall who was there, for certain, but he knows that Dream’s friends didn’t do anything to save him.

Dream blinks. He takes the book from Ranboo and looks at it more closely. Those names...they’re familiar. If Ranboo is right, then that must be the names of these people he sees in his dreams. He recalls snippets of his life, of times spent with these people, and the thought of it...well, it makes him very happy. Maybe too happy--his emotions are out of his control again. He sets the book back down, beginning to laugh softly.

“George! Yeah, George!” Dream mutters, a big smile on his face. “Sapnap, Bad, yeah! Yeah!”

“Oh, you remember now? Well, that’s great!” Seeing the man who manipulated and abused him sitting there so helplessly, ecstatic over being able to remember his friends’ names, well...it’s strange, that’s for sure. Ranboo can’t be sure how to feel about it. He hates Dream’s presence, but...he’s been there. He’s had these struggles before. “Great job. It’s important to be able to remember who your friends are.”

But are they even his friends? Ranboo ponders this for a moment, frowning. Last he saw Bad, he had gone mad leading his cult surrounding that monstrous egg. He can’t recall the last time he saw George and Sapnap, but he’s pretty sure it was...when Dream was apprehended and injured. They were there, weren’t they? Ranboo eyes Dream. What will happen when they meet him again? Are they truly at ease with what was done to their friend?

This is too much worrying for Ranboo. He takes a deep breath. Just don’t think about it. Just forget about it.

He picks up the book again, flipping the pages to see where it ends. After the drawings of people are more drawings of random objects. There are some sheep, some trees, some...oh! An enderman. He must remember seeing an enderman. The drawing looks frightening to Ranboo. Dream must have had a bad encounter. After that, there are no more drawings. That’s it? Those few pages of scribbles...that’s all that’s left of him?

Ranboo shuts the book, setting it gently upon the shelf Dream got it from. Dream is still smiling, still thinking about his friends, still swept away by his emotions. Ranboo sits beside him in silence for a while longer. The storm outside seems to have cleared up.


	6. Cookies

“You know what I realized?” asks Philza, who is taking Dream for a walk. A few days have passed since Ranboo had visited Dream, and he hasn’t gone to see him again since. Once more, Dream’s world has been reduced to just him, Phil, and his cabin.

“Mmmhm?”

“They never technically exiled you.”

Dream goes quiet. What does that mean? By now, he’s gathered that something bad had happened, and that he was put here for a reason, as some sort of punishment. What is Philza talking about?

“Technically--technically, you were never actually exiled. You were kicked out, yes, and they had me take you away, but that was just because nobody there would take you in.” Despite Philza’s casual attitude, the conversation topic makes Dream uneasy. “So since the only reason you left is because you couldn’t survive there, not because you were exiled, you’re free to return any time you’d like. Well, assuming they don’t try to kill you.”

Go back? Go back to where? Dream’s memory of before is still fuzzy. He’s remembering bits and pieces, but...he doesn’t know where his home is. Even then, he’s not sure if he’s ready to see the people who hurt him. By now, he’s realized that he’s been hurt. He doesn’t know who did it, or why--other than a vague sense that he was punished--and, frankly, he doesn’t want to find out. He whines at Philza.

“No no it’ll be great, and you’ll be safe, we can bring Techno with us. With me and Techno there they won’t hurt you. Plus then, then! We can go get all of your stuff!”

“Mmm... My stuff?”

“Yeah, like all your OP loot and shit.” Philza chuckles. That’s what he really wants. “I mean I’m sure they wouldn’t just give you back your armor and tools, but we can at least go raid your old house and see if there’s anything worthwhile in there. Hell, even blocks and gunpowder and shit are useful.”

“Mmh…” Dream isn’t so sure about this.

“Come on. It’ll also be a great chance for you to remember stuff! I mean, all that old stuff you can’t remember is still there. We can just go there, and then you’ll remember it!”

Dream frowns. He isn’t so sure that he wants to remember.

“Trust me. It’ll be okay. And if it’s not, we can just go back home. Okay?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Dream nods.

“Great. Then I'll go get Techno.”

\---

“So you’re saying we’re just going to waltz right in there, banished ruler in tow, and raid his chests like thieves?” Techno questions Phil. Despite his appearance of disbelief, Techno is very, very excited at the prospect of this venture.

“Yah, basically,” says Phil. He takes a bite of his steak. It’s just him and Techno at the moment, sitting in their home. Ranboo is off sleepwalking somewhere, probably, and Dream was put to bed. “Think of all the cool shit the guy must have. It’s going to waste just sitting there in a chest. And I mean,” Phil says between mouthfuls, “if we don’t take it, somebody else will, and if I were him I’d rather the guys taking care of him inherit my belongings than the guys who banished me.”

“Your justification for theft is good enough for me, Phil!” Technoblade grins. “At dawn, we set out! To salvage the fallen king’s lost treasure!”

Philza laughs. “For treasure!” The two clink their glasses of water and continue on with their dinner, feasting late into the evening.

\---

“Rise and shine, Dream, adventure awaits!” Philza stands over Dream’s bed. “Today, we are going to head to your old home to gather your belongings!”

“Oh,” mumbles Dream, who is still half asleep. More strange, confusing nightmares--he didn’t sleep well. He rolls over, pulling the blanket up to his head. “Nnn, no.”

This makes Philza laugh. “What do you mean, no? We have work to do! Come on, get up!” Philza tugs on the blankets. Dream whines in protest, but eventually Phil gets him to cooperate.

Now sitting upright, Dream seems annoyed. He rubs his eyes with his hands. When he opens them, he sees a pile of cookies in Philza’s hands.

“Breakfast!” Philza says.

Dream takes the cookies graciously, though his poor motor skills cause him to drop a few in his lap. He munches on the cookies as Philza keeps talking.

“Before we can go, I have a very special present for you. My dear friend Technoblade has been hard at work getting this for you, so you better say thank you when you see him.”

“Thank you.”

“No, not now, haha, when you see Techno, tell him thank you.” With the introduction out of the way, Philza sets a chest down by Dream’s bed. He opens it up and reveals its contents to Dream. There is a new set of enchanted Netherite armor. It doesn’t have maximum enchantments, however it is surely enough to keep him alive. There are no weapons, however there is a diamond pickaxe, shovel, and hoe. Giving him a sword would be a bad idea, as would an axe. Phil isn’t even sure if Dream knows what to do with these tools, but it’s better that he has them. There’s also food for the road, some golden apples, a water bucket--anything a person needs to survive, except for weaponry.

Once Dream finishes his breakfast, Philza helps him out of the bed and gets the armor on him. Dream is quiet all the while, but his expression is that of awe and excitement. Once he’s all suited up, he can’t help but feel as though the sensation is familiar, as if this armor is home. A wide grin grows on his face. By now, Philza is used to Dream’s odd emotional patterns, but right now a great amount of enthusiasm is completely natural.

“And here, here’s a gift from me.” Philza reaches into his inventory, taking out...a mask. “I know that you don’t like lettin’ people see your face. And I know that me and Techno and Ranboo already saw it, but I don’t think the rest of them have. Seeing as your mask was missing when I found you, I knew it’d probably make you feel better to have a new one. It took a while, though, cause there’s no crafting recipe for something like this.” Philza turns over the mask in his hands, feeling its smooth exterior. It’s made of white glazed terracotta, molded into the right shape. Ink was used to draw the smiling face on its front. Philza had only seen the original mask a few times, so his recreation was not exact. Somehow, the new mask looks happier, as if the smile is a little more genuine. It’s not as scary as before.

This gets Dream crying. He’s not entirely sure why, but Philza giving him this gift that he made for him makes his heart ache in a happy way. He reaches forward and pulls Philza into a hug, his heavy armor and strong muscles just about crushing the poor man.

“Haha, I’m glad you like it,” sputters Philza, giving Dream a pat on the armor-clad back before pulling away. “Let’s get it on you, then.”

Philza takes off Dream’s helmet, setting it aside. He then lifts the mask, tying it into place with leather straps, trying his best not to brush up against Dream’s scars. Then, he carefully sets Dream’s helmet back on.

"Do you like it?" Phil watches Dream attentively.

There we go. That's it. With armor on and his mask covering his face, his secrets and weaknesses kept hidden within him--finally, Dream feels safe. He takes a deep breath, a sigh of relief. Finally, he's at ease.

"Yeah," responds Dream, a smile on his face beneath his mask.

Phil has to admit, it was easier to read him before he put the mask on again. Then again, Dream was never easy to read. Looking at him now, seeming so comfortable in his own skin for the first time in months, Phil gets the sense that Dream prefers it that way. Phil offers him another pat on the back, then the two go in for a second hug. "I'm glad. I'm really glad you like it."


	7. Travel

Suited up and ready to go, the trio head into the nearest Nether portal. Philza holds on to Dream’s arm with a tight grip, dreading the idea of the man tripping into the sea of lava below. With netherite armor, he would be fine, but Philza would have to rescue him, and it would be, ultimately, a nightmare. They tread carefully along the long, unstable bridges across the Nether.

Dream looks out over the edge, staring at the bright lava around him. This world is so much hotter than the one he was in before. He’s scared, both of the Nether and of what is to come. He still doesn’t totally understand, but he can sense the tension in the air as Techno and Phil lead him towards the Nether hub portal.

“Okey, we don’t know who might be on the other side of this portal, Dream,” says Philza. “But don’t worry. Techno and I will make sure nobody tries to fuck with us. You will be fine, just stick with us and don’t wander off. Don’t talk to anyone, either, until we’re sure that they’re safe. Just stay with us, and do as we say.”

As usual, Phil’s words barely make it across, but Dream is trying as hard as he can to focus on Phil’s words and understand them. After a second, he nods. “Mhm, okay.”

“Now I’m guessin’ you don’t actually remember where your house is?” Technoblade eyes Dream.

“Nnn… no.”

“Right. So we’ll need to find somebody who does. I’m guessing that’ll be George or Sapnap.”

“...” Dream remembers those names. Those are his friends.

“...But weren’t those guys there when it happened?” Philza looks at Techno.

“Yeah. Traitors, the lot of them. Willing to basically murder their best friend for ‘the greater good’ and ‘the will of the people’? Fucking criiiiinge.” Techno laughs. Humor helps him cope, but the three of them know that, in reality, there’s nothing funny about this.

“Okay. George or Sapnap,” says Dream, nodding. He’s trying to work over in his head how to go about asking them for help, but... all he can think about is how much he misses them.

“You don’t have to worry about a thing, Dream,” says Phil. “Just keep quiet, and we’ll do the talking.”

Then why did they even make him come? Dream sighs. “Okay.”

With that, the three of them head through the portal.

\---

Dream holds his breath until he's finally through the portal. Travelling makes him nauseous. He holds on to Phil's arm, clutching on to it as if he's going to die. He looks through the holes on his mask out at the world around him. Strangely, this place is familiar. Unfortunately, he can't remember much about it, and he doesn't think much of it. He just looks around, taking in the sights.

Techno and Phil are talking. They're debating about where to find the people they're looking for. Dream doesn't pay any attention, far more interested in the new terrain. This place is so different from the snowy tundra he calls home. Additionally, the presence of large, red tendrils across the walkways and buildings is unnerving. He gets the feeling those weren't there before.

Dream feels a sensation of being watched. He turns around, scouring the horizon for movement. Someone is there, standing horribly still, staring at the three of them, but… Dream can't tell who they are.

Phil is tugging on Dream's arm. "Come on, Dream," he says. "We need to go find someone who can help us."

But Dream won't budge. "Look," he mutters, pointing towards the figure in the distance.

"Oh." Phil stiffens.

"I got it I got it," assures Technoblade as he loads a firework into his crossbow. Without a moment's hesitation, he fires the crossbow out at the person--this gets them to flee and leave them alone.

Dream frowns, but his mask hides it. He takes a closer look at Techboblade's crossbow. He wants a crossbow. Why wouldn't they give him a crossbow?

"We better keep going," says Phil. "People may not want you here."

Onwards they go. Dream follows them with slow steps, overstimulated by the vast amount of things to look at and understand. He's beginning to get stressed out, and he thinks about telling Phil that he wants to go home, but he doesn't get a chance before someone approaches them.

"Philza Minecraft! Philza Minecraft!" Here comes the lunatic Quackity, to undoubtedly spout some hilarious nonsense and then run off. He looks like he's about to say something, but he stops dead in his tracks when he sees Dream. A horrible smirk grows on his face. "Oh. No way?? Is that Dream? Philza Minecraft, you champion, you, you managed to bring him back from the dead! Or is he just another ghost? What would that be… Gream? Ghostream?? Drhost???"

Philza doesn't have the patience for this. "He is not a ghost, and he didn't come back to life. He never died. We're looking for George and Sapnap. Do you know where they are?"

"What? Never died? Are you kidding? He lived through that??" Quackity is getting much too close to Dream for his comfort. If it weren't for his armor and his mask protecting him, he'd be terrified. Instead, he tries to hold his ground, so that he can take a closer look at Quackity's face and try to understand why he recognizes him.

"Can you talk? Can you talk, Dream? You got hit in the head pretty hard, huh big man?" It's clear that Quackity's hatred for Dream has not faltered. His twisted way of belittling him with jokes is making Dream quite uneasy.

Techno looks at Phil. "You know, Phil, just give me the word, and I'll kill this kid, I will do it, actually please say the word, please because I could really do with some killing Quackity right now."

Phil pushes himself between Dream and Quackity, opening his damaged wings to shield Dream. "If you know where Sapnap or George are, tell us. If not, get lost."

"Oh, uh, um, I totally know where they are yeah!" Quackity backs off.

"Doubt." Techno squints at Quackity. "Come on, Phil, let's just find somebody else. This guy's only trouble."

"Huh!? Who are you calling trouble, bub?? Maybe you two frostland freaks should go back to your dumb hippie Christmas shack!" Quackity keeps hurling these insults, but, honestly, he's more amused by himself than actually mad.

"Can I please kill him, Phil?" Techno groans.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Wait wait wait wait--" Quackity backs up, but it's too late.

"Not canon! Not a canon death!" Technoblade often uses this power to kill for fun, and now is no exception. Quackity is swiftly taken out by Techno's blade, but he will respawn safe and sound. Killing someone's body is different from killing their soul.

Dream is trembling. That was a horrendous display. First he was insulted, then a guy was killed in front of him? This new world is too much to handle. Dream would rather go back home to his nice cabin and watch the snow fall.

"Mmmm, go home," Dream protests as the three continue walking along the prime path.

"We're getting there. We just had a slight detour. Sorry you had to deal with that," says Phil, "and don't worry. He isn't actually dead. He's perfectly fine."

Dream goes quiet, looking down at the wooden planks at his feet instead of the world around him.

"Man. There's just about nobody here. What happened to all the festivals? All the events? I thought they'd be celebrating. The tyrannical ruler who had been threatening their society for eons is finally defeated." Technoblade looks back at Philza.

Philza shrugs. "Maybe they just don't know what to do next. Or, you know, they're afraid of all this weird red tendril stuff that's everywhere."

"Yeaaah." Techno kicks a pile of vines with his netherite boot. Gross.

When hope is just about lost, and they had been wandering for hours, they finally find who they'd been searching for. There's Sapnap, sprinting along a pathway a few yards away, probably en route to the nether portal.

"Oh! Oh! I see him! We need to get his attention!" Techno reaches into his bag and pulls out a bow and arrow, shooting at Sapnap. It lands right in front of his feet. That gets him to stop. He looks pissed, but as Techno and Phil approach him, they realize who is with them.

Sapnap spares Dream a single glance before returning his attention to Philza. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to get his stuff, take it to his new base," says Phil.

Sapnap scoffs. "You're not getting his armor or his weapons back, you do know that, right?"

"No no, we don't want that, we just want, you know, his resources. The blocks and items and food he had. It's goin' to waste sitting in his old base."

"Then why…" Sapnap's gaze returns to Dream. He pulls it away, looking back at Phil, swallowing to keep his voice steady. "Then why do you need me? Go get it."

"Well we don't know where it is."

"You don't?"

"No."

"Doesn't he?" Sapnap gestures to Dream, who is very quiet.

"No he doesn't." Philza frowns. "Hardly remembers anything from before."

The four of them stand in silence for a while. Sapnap has been trying to keep his expression firm and unwavering, but his heart is beginning to ache. Still, he refuses to look at Dream.

It is then that Dream recalls his friend's name. "Sapnap…?" he mutters from behind his mask. He's still holding tight on to Philza's arm, to keep him steady, but he takes a cautious step forward. "Sapnap?"

Sapnap didn't expect Dream to recognize him. Hearing his friend's voice again, the friend who he had considered dead in his eyes, causes all his emotions to resurface. It's been so hard to live without Dream, especially with the assertion that he has to be okay with what happened because Dream deserved it. But if he had to be honest with himself, he's not. He's not okay with what happened.

Pausing for a moment, Sapnap looks up at Dream, taking a minute to really look at him. His mask is different, but other than that... it's the same guy he built that community house with all those years ago.

"Hello, Dream." Sapnap is struggling not to cry.

"Sapnap???" Dream can't believe it. The memories are flooding back to him. This is one of his very best friends, Sapnap! Dream pulls him into a hug, but it’s difficult with both of them wearing armor. Sapnap pats Dream’s back idly, then cautiously wraps his arms around him for a brief moment.

“Sapnaaap,” coos Dream, a wide grin on his masked face.

“I’m surprised you can...talk,” remarks Sapnap, gently pulling away from the hug. He was there, he saw it happen, he saw Dream die from the wound on his head, he heard the crack as his skull was broken. He was one of the ones who carried him out of there, pouring health potions down his throat, everyone stuck in a shocked silence that came with the realization of what they had just witnessed, of what had truly just happened.

“Mmhhm,” mumbles Dream, still smiling behind that mask of his. Sapnap wants to take it off, he wants to look into his eyes, to see if he’s really there, if he’s not just a figment of his imagination.

“Hate to interrupt the bromance my dudes, but could we like, not do this in the middle of town,” asks Technoblade, a slight bit of humor to his voice. Despite the happiness Dream is experiencing, everybody else is quite tense--it’s not certain that Dream is even allowed to come back to this place.

“Right. We better get going. You want to go to Dream’s old place, yeah? That vault we had out in the middle of nowhere?” Sapnap is trying to shake Dream off--Dream is holding on to his arm like he had been with Philza. He’s happy to see Dream, of course, but...he still isn’t comfortable with this situation.

Philza gets the message and pulls Dream back to him.”Yea, that sounds about right. Just wherever he kept his stuff, basically. We’re going to keep it safe. If it hasn’t already gotten stolen, haha.”

“Well, I know how to get there. It’s a long way, though--we’ll have to go through the Nether, but there isn't a pathway. I have the coordinates. Is he, uh…” Sapnap trails off.

“He’s the parkour god, of course he can make the journey,” jokes Technoblade. Philza shoots him a glance.

“He’ll be fine,” says Phil.

“Well, then let’s go.” Sapnap continues onwards, towards the portal.


	8. Nether

The four press onwards, through the dangerous Nether. They have to go carefully, for Dream’s sake, as even though he can make the jumps just fine, any hostile threat is too much for him to handle on his own. This is mostly because he doesn’t have any weapons, but also because his hand-eye coordination is too poor for him to fight. This is fine, because Techno’s crossbow is enough to take out anything before it can get close enough to start a fight.

Dream hasn’t stopped thinking about Sapnap. His head is too empty to think of something to say to him, but just the thought of his old friend, of the guy he spent so much time with--it just makes him feel warm inside. The three of them are making idle conversation, but Dream doesn’t pay attention to it. He’s just thinking about Sapnap, and making sure that he doesn’t fall off the edge.

That warmth in Dream’s chest causes his heart to beat faster, as he is beginning to experience, once again, an immense amount of happiness. In order to cope with the joy he’s feeling, he starts to laugh, quietly, to himself, as he stares down at his netherite boots as they hit the netherrack floor.

After a little while, Sapnap picks up on Dream’s laughing, and he stops talking to listen for it. He glances at Philza, visibly confused.

“Why is he...laughing?”

“He does that when he’s happy,” answers Phil. “I think something in the way he feels emotions got fucked up--sometimes he just gets really happy out of nowhere.”

“Well that’s...better than him getting sad, I guess…”

“No, he gets sad sometimes too.” Phil recalls many nights where he was simply unable to get Dream to stop crying. He frowns. “He just experiences all emotions really...intensely, sometimes.”

“Oh. So he just. Laughs? Until it’s over?”

“Well yeah.”

“You get used to it,” says Techno. “The creepy quiet laughing gets old after a while and you get used to it. Ain’t doing any harm.”

“...Right,” says Sapnap.

Dream had noticed that they were talking about him. He has since gone quiet.

After a few minutes, Sapnap finally speaks to him again. “So Dream, um… it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

It takes Dream a few seconds. “Yeah.”

“Look, I’m really sorry for what happened. I should have stopped them. I really should have. But you did… you DID do bad things, Dream, and I thought… you know, I thought, if you did bad things, you’d have to pay for it, but, but I hadn’t really… grasped, you know, what was happening? I didn’t realize what they were really doing. U-Until it was too late. Until they started hitting you.” Sapnap kicks a twisted vine out of the way, looking back at Dream and frowning. “I know it’s no excuse, I... I just wanted to say sorry. I should have stopped them. They should never have done that. You didn’t... You did bad things, Dream, but you didn’t deserve THAT.”

Dream furrows his brow. He can tell that what Sapnap is saying to him is very important, as the sincerity in Sapnap’s voice is palpable. But when Dream tries to make sense of it, when he tries to truly understand what Sapnap is saying, it’s like sand slipping easily through the spaces between his fingers. Try as he might, he just can’t understand.

But he gets enough of it. Sapnap knows about him getting hurt. He did some bad things, and that’s why he was hurt. Sapnap is sorry that he let Dream get hurt. That makes sense. That’s all Dream can gather.

After a minute or two of thinking, Dream gives his response, “Yeah, thhhat’s okay.” He gives Sapnap a smile. But when Sapnap looks back at him, his expression worked into a frown of concern and anguish, Dream realizes that he can’t see his face, so he can’t see his smile. That’s why Sapnap is frowning.

Pausing under the light of a shroomlight, Dream takes off his helmet for a second. Philza takes it for him, and the three of them watch as Dream unties his mask. He holds it close to his chest. He just wants to show Sapnap that he really means it. So he offers him another smile.

“That’s okay!” He says.

Seeing his old friend’s face, seeing that genuine smile of reassurement on his face--it’s too much for Sapnap to handle, and it makes his heart ache. He steps closer to Dream, and, after a moment’s hesitation, pulls him into a hug. He starts crying.

“Oh Dream, I miss you Dream, I miss you so much Dream,” he mumbles. “Why did it have to turn out like this? Why did you have to do those things, why did they have to do this to you? Why couldn’t they have just locked you away in prison instead? Then at least...at least you’d still be…” He trails off, sobbing into Dream’s shoulder.

Dream is overwhelmed by this, holding Sapnap in his arms. “That’s okay, that’s okay,” Dream mutters to reassure Sapnap.

“What is it with these guys and their crying and their emotions and their weird social dynamics?” Technoblade whispers to Philza.

“Shoosh!” Philza chuckles, relieved that Techno broke the tension. “Shush, let them have this.”

Sniffling, Sapnap pulls away from Dream, but keeps his hands on his shoulders. He takes a moment to look at him, to look him into the eyes. He’s one of the very few people to be familiar with Dream’s face, and he can tell that it’s different. There’s a light missing in those bright green eyes of his, his gaze dull and vacant. Dream stares at Sapnap for a few moments, as if thinking, and then he smiles again.

“Oh, Dream...,” Sapnap mutters, putting a hand through Dream’s hair, acting as if they’re best friends once more. “I’m so sorry Dream…” Sapnap must have touched a sensitive part of Dream’s head, because Dream flinches. Sapnap puts his hand down, then looks closer--beneath Dream’s golden hair, which is longer than it was before, Sapnap can see the scars. He can tell that the skull beneath his skin was broken out of place and then healed back again. He takes Dream’s head by a gentle hand on his chin, tilting it to get a better look. Then he turns Dream’s head so that he’s facing him once more, looking deep into those empty eyes. Sapnap gets a chill, and he is reminded that magic and potions are the only reason Dream’s even alive right now.

Sapnap lets go of Dream’s head, taking a deep breath and patting Dream’s shoulder. Slowly, he starts walking again.

“Dream, you know, you’re…” Sapnap swallows, trying not to let his voice tremble. “You’re my best friend, Dream.”

“Wha…What? Yeah?” Dream sounds surprised by this.

“Some kind of best friend, not showing up to visit him in his recovery…” Technoblade mutters. Philza shushes him again.

“Yeah. You really are. And you want to know why?” Sapnap glances at Dream.

“Whh…”

“Because you’re SO strong, and so handsome, and so good at fighting, and so funny, and so--did I mention you’re super handsome? Like, really handsome. Like gorgeous.” Sapnap is trying to lighten the mood. Dream is taking Sapnap’s joking seriously, though, and the nice words cause him to grin.

Sapnap expects a response, but Dream doesn’t say anything, so he keeps talking. “Yeah, you’re so good at parkour too, and you make me laugh all the time, and you’re really such a sweetie pie when you want to be.”

The things Sapnap is saying makes Dream’s chest feel warm again, a nice change from the heavy despair he had been feeling in it just moments ago. He’s so happy to have Sapnap back again. Now, Sapnap can come live in his cabin with him, and they can talk and draw and eat cookies and look at the snow falling together. The idea makes him so happy that he starts to laugh.


	9. Old Home

Out of the Nether, at last. They’re a short walk away from Dream’s old base. Dream is relieved to be back in the overworld. That hellish dimension frightens him.

There's still things in the chests. Phil and Techno get to work, filling up their inventories with the most valuable goods.

"We should take multiple trips," suggests Techno.

"Now that we know where it is, that shouldn't be too hard. I think Dream wants to go home soon though."

Dream nods. He's exhausted, and he's had far too long of a day. All he wants now is to go back home and rest.

As Phil and Techno rummage through chests, Sapnap leans against a wall next to Dream.

"You doing okay," asks Sapnap.

Dream looks over at him and shrugs.

"Yeah. It's... weird being back here. It was nice when we lived together. And being back at the community house too. You know, before...all of this. Before all the wars. When it was just...just us living our lives." Sapnap sighs. "But that wasn't enough for you, and now we're here."

Dream is quiet. Mostly, he doesn't get what Sapnap is saying. Did they used to live together? What was Sapnap talking about? What did he mean by 'wars'? Dream doesn't want to think about it any more. It makes his head ache.

"I missed you a lot, you know, when you went off to fight Tommy." Sapnap frowns. "It sucks that our friendship had to suffer because of it all. I think...I think we can still be friends, Dream. I don't think you're like, innocent, but I think we should still be friends."

That part sounds nice, but what was the rest of that? Who's Tommy? Dream ponders on his confusion for a moment, a slight frown on his face. Alas, as usual, his train of thought goes nowhere, and he can't think of anything. It's just like the morning he spent staring out the window at the snowy storm outside. Nothing to think about. By now, he's gotten used to the silence.

Oh, Sapnap is staring at him. "Y-Yeah," responds Dream. He takes his helmet off, to itch his scars.

"Does it hurt?"

"Hm?"

"Your head. Does it still hurt?"

Dream hesitates. How can he explain this? On the outside, it doesn't really hurt anymore. The weird way in which his skull fragments healed causes him occasional migraines. Other than that, though, the pain mostly comes from headaches when he overworks himself. He has a headache now, in fact.

"Um…" Dream is trying to figure out how to find the right words. He still isn't very good at forming sentences. "It's... hurts, uh. Inside." He points to his forehead. "Nnnot the… scars? Not the scars. Inside it hurts."

"Right…" Sapnap doesn't like to hear Dream struggle to speak like this. He recalls long nights spent staying up late by torchlight, talking and laughing away with Dream. In this very room, no doubt. He sighs and looks at the floor.

"Y'okay?" asks Dream, looking over at Sapnap from behind his mask.

"Y...Yeah. I'm okay. Just...really tired," says Sapnap. "Really tired."

"Yeahh, me too." Dream leans against the wall as well, watching Philza and Technoblade loot his chests. Frankly, he hardly remembers this place, and he doesn't care that they're taking his things. He doesn't need them anymore, anyway.

Then Dream gets an idea. "Yyyou," he begins, looking back towards Sapnap. "Come to… my house!" Dream smiles, and although Sapnap can't see his face, he can hear it in his voice.

"Oh, I don't know about… that…" Seeing Dream is hard enough. Sapnap honestly just wants to get this visit done with so he can push it all out of his mind again. It hurts too much to think about it.

"Wh...why?"

"Well uh...I don't… think that Techno and Phil would want me to. Their base is pretty secretive. I don't think they'd let me."

"Oh, but… my house isn't… in--in their house."

Sapnap sighs. "Maybe some other time, buddy. I can come visit you some other time. I just don't feel good right now."

"Why?"

"Hey Dream, what's your favorite thing to eat?" Sapnap abruptly changes the subject.

"No, wait…" Dream tries to hold on to his thoughts, but they're already slipping between his fingers.

"Do you like carrots? Steak? Baked potatoes? Cake? Pumpkin pie? Rabbit stew? Melon? Chicken?"

It's no use. Dream can't pay attention to what Sapnap is saying as well as his own thoughts, and he quickly forgets what he was talking about. That headache of his is worsening.

"Um…," begins Dream, putting his hand on his head. "The… Soup. The rabbit soup."

"Oh yeah? And why do you like the rabbit soup so much? I've never seen you eat it."

"Mmm… Dad gives me soup," Dream answers.

"... Dad?" Sapnap laughs in disbelief. "You call him Dad? He calls you Dad?"

"Like, half of this town calls me Dad," jokes Philza, as he sorts through stacks of sugarcane and bamboo. "Of course he does."

Dream nods.

"Hold on," says Phil, getting up from the chest he was kneeling next to. "Is he talking? Like, actually saying sentences and stuff?"

"Well yeah, we were...having a chat," explains Sapnap.

Philza laughs, grinning. "Well that's great! I'm glad you're feeling verbal today, especially after how stressful the Nether was. He doesn't always talk, and he doesn't always talk very much. So this is great!"

Dream can tell that they're talking about him, so he smiles.

\---

Finally, Techno and Phil have loaded their inventories with goods. They’re certainly going to have to make a couple extra trips, but for now they’re ready to return home.

Dream looks back at Sapnap, as if questioning whether or not he will come with them.

"Here, I'll...take you through the Nether, but then I'm going to have to say goodbye, okay?" Sapnap offers Dream a small smile. "I'll visit you soon though."

Dream seems to understand. He nods. "Mmmkay," he says.

With that, they head through the portal, and back through the Nether. Once more, Dream stays close to Sapnap. He finds himself walking slowly. He doesn't want Sapnap to leave.

But sooner or later, the time comes. They reach the portal to Phil and Techno’s land, and it’s time for Sapnap to go home. The four of them stop, and Dream looks down at Sapnap.

The two stare at each other for a moment, then Dream fumbles with his helmet, taking it off and promptly removing his mask. Just to look at Sapnap himself one more time.

Of course, Dream taking off his mask just makes leaving him harder for Sapnap. He forces himself to make eye contact with his old friend, to look into the green, vacant depths of his eyes.

“Um…,” begins Sapnap. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah,” says Dream. He has a small smile plastered on his face.

“It was...good to see you. I’ll try to, you know...get George to come see you some time, too. It’s…” Sapnap sighs. “It’s been hard for all of us. Out of nowhere, you were just...gone, you know? It’s...hard. He’s taken it hard.”

Dream nods, as if he knows what Sapnap is talking about.

“...But he’ll come around. He’ll be glad to hear you’re awake. I’m sure of it.”

Dream nods again. He’s smiling, but when Sapnap looks him in the eyes, he can’t tell if he really understands.

Sapnap pulls Dream into a farewell hug. "Take care, okay Dream?"

“Mmkay.” Dream hugs Sapnap in return. With that, he steps into the portal, watching as his old friend vanishes from view.


End file.
